Cape residents to benefit from water pressure system

Residents in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, will soon benefit from the city's R6 million water pressure reduction system.

The third largest water pressure management installation, which was opened on Tuesday, will provide more reliable water supply to the residents of Mitchells Plain.

Councillor Clive Justus, the City of Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services said that there had been a growing awareness in recent years of the problems created by excessively high water pressures in the pipes supplying consumers.

"High water pressure not only damages household plumbing appliances, but can also cause substantial leaks.

"Such problems are especially evident during the night when consumers are usually asleep and very few are using water. It is for this reason that most leakage and new pipe bursts occur at night between 8pm and 6am," Mr Justus said.

Reducing the water pressure during this period will, in turn, reduce the leakage, reduce the occurrence of pipes bursting and help to prolong the life of household plumbing systems.

Mr Justus said that pressure management is often a misunderstood term, but it simply involves reducing the pressure in the water pipes during off-peak periods, when there is little demand for water.

At these times, with the reduced demand, water pressure rises and leads to problems such as breaks in pipes and increased leakage.

"Such pressure reduction should therefore not be seen as a reduction in a level of service to the consumer, but rather as an overall improvement," he said, adding that water would always still be available in the required quantities.

The city has a long and impressive track record with the implementation of various water demand management measures, particularly in pressure management as well as in the re-use of sewage effluent for irrigation.

New developments and new pressure management techniques are saving the city millions of Rands annually and assisting in the conservation of this finite and most precious resource. - BuaNews

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